Prisoners of War

When war breaks forth unwary,
Under wail and armor-weighted,
Burdensome, but necessary
Before the horrors perpetuated
Bloody ideals in high-array stood
Man in fist against fellow man,
Evil vandalizing the good,
Sometimes by your own hand
The initial draw of blood
Rends your cells in twain
Knees and vomit in the mud
Necessary, but never again!
Yet the next day passes as the day before
Inches won by lifetimes
You make a home within the gore,
Within the necessity of your crimes,
Waiting for the relief so deeply craved
Brought by precious and costly Peace
Whose heraldry dissolves all depraved
And allows for violence to cease.

In hope, through advancing stages,
Lady Peace keeps soldiers warm,
But the longer the fighting rages
How abstract becomes her form!
When the fighting continues through
Blazing suns and shifting stars
Til it’s no longer the thing you chose to do,
But has become the thing you are,
Your gaze narrows earthward
At the casualties that fall;
In your gut, you know you’ll never trust her,
Nay, nor recognize her at all!